In recent years, followed by realization of multi-channel structure of information providing by popularization of CATV (Cable Television), etc., unlike conventional VTRs (Video Tape Recorders) provided with tape-shaped recording medium, there are demands to record and reproduce, at the same time, plural video/audio data from single video/audio data recording/reproducing apparatus, and to reproduce such video/audio data while recording them, etc. To satisfy such demands, there are being popularized apparatuses called video server for recording/reproducing video/audio data by using random accessible recording medium such as hard disc, etc.
Such video servers are adapted so that a large number of non-linearly reproducible large capacity hard disc units are connected to have recording capacity of several tens to several hundreds giga bytes as a whole. Such video servers are suitable for recording data in which data quantity of audio data and video data or any either one of them, etc. is extremely large. Particularly, since arbitrary audio data or video data can be reproduced in a short access time, such video servers are excellent as recording/reproducing unit for editing apparatus.
Such video servers hold information for carrying out management of positions on hard discs of files recorded on respective hard disc units to carry out management of video/audio data recorded on respective hard discs. Moreover, when such video servers carry out editing processing of video/audio data, they prepare file editing information called VFL (Virtual File List) consisting of file name information and continuous data length information, etc. Such video servers designate the file name information and the continuous data length information, etc. to thereby prepare VFL thus to carry out editing processing. At this time, video servers only reproduce VFL to read out, from respective hard discs, video/audio data which has been caused to undergo editing processing by making reference to VFL at the time of reproduction processing without re-recording video/audio data onto the hard disc at the time of editing processing.
As described above, video servers adapted for preparing VFL to carry out editing processing have different feeling of operation of user from linear editing of conventional VTR provided with tape-shaped recording medium. For user who carried out linear editing using conventional VTR, editing processing result using non-linearly accessible recording medium would be feeling of disagreement.